Cindy Nguyen - Changemaker Profile
Cindy Nguyen (she/her) is a Vietnamese Canadian and Mount Royal Alumni. In this Changemaker Profile, Cindy discusses her multifaceted career as a tri-sector innovator, emphasizing her pursuit of recognitive justice. She works as a Community Investment Specialist at connectFirst Credit Union fostering thriving local economies and supporting vibrant community visions. Cindy also co-founded Candid Companions, providing companionship for social change advocates. Additionally, she teaches Introduction to Social Innovation at her alma mater, Mount Royal University, where she fosters changemaking skills. As a former MRU student, Cindy highlights the institution's strengths in fostering a culture of changemaking and resilience. She finds inspiration in community, nostalgic media, and the belief in incremental change towards a better future.
Could you tell me about yourself?
As we're talking about changemaking, I wanted to share that how I navigate the world also influences how I see myself as a change maker. I'm Vietnamese. I grew up here, born and raised in Calgary, and my father was a refugee, and my mom was an immigrant. I think their experiences really shaped how I grew up, how I experienced things, and fueled a lot of my passion for this space.
I think of myself as someone multifaceted. I would say the common theme that really ties all those pieces together is my pursuit of recognitive justice. It's a concept where it asks the questions - Who is recognized in society? Who holds power in society? Whose efforts in changemaking are recognized? And who can participate in changemaking?
Growing up with my parents coming here as an immigrant and refugee, I think there was a strong orientation to this idea of “gratefulness”, like they're grateful to Canada, they're grateful for an opportunity to change their lives. But, I think this gratefulness then gives off a sense of “how much should and can we ask for”. I grew up in those situations where it’s clear that we deserve more, or we deserve equitable treatment - but my parents would say that we should be grateful for what we have, even if that meant contending with oppression. That has fueled my thoughts on who is recognized in society, who can participate in changemaking. Do we need to settle for a certain state of existence that we're in because we're grateful and because it’s better than before even if it’s not where we should be?
That pushed me into pursuing social work. I have a Master’s of Social Work, with a specialization in International Community Development. I also did my Bachelors of Business Administration with a minor in Social Innovation. It was kind of an interesting path for me to go, but looking at society as a whole, these two sectors have interconnections, and different ways to contribute to each other’s idea of change.
Could you tell me about the work you’re taking on now?
I'm currently working at connectFirst credit union as a Community Investment Specialist, and my role there is to support the credit union in maintaining their community roots. This idea of recognitive justice is entwined in that kind of industry. How do we come together and support each other in mutual aid, and make sure that our needs are being met? [With credit unions] it's that recognition that everyone deserves access to financial services and should have ownership over financial wellness.
I'm also a Co-Founder of a small business called Candid Companions. We recognize that sometimes change work can be lonely. Especially with those folks who are a little bit more daring and want to push the boundaries, but the vast majority [of folks] aren’t ready for that yet, so the work can feel a little bit lonely. We call them Social Change Adventurers – folks who are ready to take on a challenge and dive deeply into authentic change. Candid Companions support these folks by providing that companionship, to walk together with them on this journey. We can provide complimentary skills, but also create that space to test out new and brave ideas.
My last sphere of work is that I'm a part-time Professor at Mount Royal University. I teach Intro to Social Innovation. In that role and in that space, I support students in building that confidence to be a changemaker, but also gaining the skills and knowledge to be able to navigate that space that can be very complicated.
What does it mean to you, to be a changemaker?
When I think about [the term] changemaker, it’s often conceptualized as that individual changemaker. But for me, I keep on thinking about community. Oftentimes when we think about change, or movements, there's usually one singular leader or face tied to that change. But I think because I approach change from the perspective of transformative systems change, I can't help but think that you need a collective to come together to sustain that change and to actually have that change to be deeply impactful. In terms of, what is a changemaker? I think it's the collective struggle… a collection of dreamers who aren't afraid to be idealistic. Even with this conversation, I know that I'm being identified as a changemaker, but I always see myself in tandem with others. Starting this conversation off by acknowledging my parents, how they shaped my worldview, and how they navigated those challenges. [For me] it’s all about community and collective struggle.
What big, beautiful question drives your work?
The core of that big, beautiful question is: what should an inclusive or equitable future look like? How should systems we design get us there and then, whose vision of this future is also recognized? I would like to call myself an idealist. The ability to yearn for more and being brave to be an idealist is definitely my drive. Recently, I feel there has been a collective desire for nostalgia. To me, it indicates that we're all looking to heal our inner child. I think that it speaks to how we're all in this space where we're trying to go back to the days when we were younger and we had hope for the future and we had this excitement for all of the different possibilities. The world feels a little bit like a dystopia right now, but I think power is when we can come together and build a protopia. I don't know if you've heard about the concept of protopia, but I think it’s really beautiful, because it cautions that someone's utopia could be someone else’s dystopia. Utopia is about that ideal state of the world, so it has to be tied to the concept of time, and that can feel too far away. Then you're in this space where you see this utopia that you want to be part of, but how do I get there? It feels too far. Then for me, as an idealist, sometimes you struggle with the – “it should be this way”, but it isn't. The middle ground between, you know, a utopia and dystopia is this idea of protopia, where we have this understanding that we can get better incrementally, and that we as a collective have to contribute visions of a future that benefits us all. It’s not one linear way, but it's different paths so that we can all get there together.
How do you see changemaking happening at Mount Royal University?
As an alumni, I think Mount Royal does a really good job with creating this culture of changemaking. Even if students are coming in without thinking about social change or their identity as a changemaker, Mount Royal does live up to that status of being an Ashoka Campus. There were so many different opportunities when I was a student, where I was exposed to situations where I had to think creatively and have cross-disciplinary discussions. Mount Royal also does a good job with building resilience and grit, which is so important for changemakers. I'm back at Mount Royal now as a connectFirst partner and also professor. So, my connection lasted beyond graduation. Being able to see Mount Royal as this place where I can build a community was empowering, and I think it just boils down to instilling the hope that I can have autonomy over creating my own career path, and that doesn't need to look traditional. That's really inspiring as a changemaker and has helped me explore different avenues.